40 million + Americans can’t pay for health care

Despite long-standing access problems, government report finds fewer untreated caries among adults.

Nearly one in five adults in this country lacks funds for health services such as medical care, prescription medicines, mental health treatment, dentistry or eyeglasses, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.  That finding is included in the agency’s annual report card on the nation’s health status, titled “Health, United States, 2007” (www.cdc.gov/nchs/hus.htm).
   “There has been important progress made in many areas of health, such as increased life expectancy and decreases in death from leading killers such as heart disease and cancer,” says CDC Director, Julie Gerberding, M.D., M.P.H. “But this report shows that access to health care is still an issue where we need improvement.”
   In 2005, for instance, nearly one in 10 people aged 18 to 64 reported that they had to forego needed prescription drugs during the previous year because of cost. Another one in 10 women, aged 45 to 64 with incomes below the poverty level, said they delayed medical care because they lacked transportation.
   Nevertheless, the report did cite several key gains, including:
• In 2006, 87 percent of children aged 19 to 35 months received three or more doses of pneumococcal conjugate vaccine, an increase from 41 percent in 2002.
• During the years 2001 to 2004, about 25 percent of adults 20 to 64 years old had untreated caries, down from nearly 50 percent during the span of 1971 to 1974.
To learn about proposed U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ initiatives to provide affordable health care coverage for all Americans, visit www.hhs.gov/everyamericaninsured.